Chapter 390: Everyone Submitted
“Basher attacked that kid, but he broke his own legs?”
“Am I seeing things?”
When they saw Basher lying on the ground in pain, the Severed Fingers Gang’s leaders felt a surge of emotions in their hearts. Basher was a peak gold-tier elite, and he should be able to crush armor of the same level with a single kick, let alone a kid. They knew Watson must be at least gold-tier since he could use his head to withstand a kick from Basher.
In other words, Watson had platinum-tier strength!
“Now that Basher has failed, according to the agreement, he will become my subordinate! The rest of you, if you have the confidence, you can also bet against me. I will fulfill all of your requirements.” Watson ignored Basher, who was lying on the ground and wailing in pain. Instead, he turned his head and looked at the group.
“Fulfill all of our demands? Your tone is too arrogant.” Amon, who was also an a.s.sa.s.sin like Basher, saw the man fall to the ground. His eyes flickered. Instead of feeling fear, he pulled the dagger at his waist, stuck out his tongue, and licked the cold, curved blade. “I have a request. I want to cut your neck. If you can withstand it, I will agree to become your subordinate. Can you agree to that condition?”
“Of course.” Watson looked relaxed. He deliberately tilted his neck and beckoned Amon with his finger. “Come on.”
Whoos.h.!.+
Almost as soon as Watson’s voice fell, Amon appeared behind him. The dagger in his hand was covered with a layer of sharp wind-elemental combat aura. However, the wind was scarlet—it looked like vaporized blood. There was a smell of blood. Before it landed on Watson’s body, the ground beneath his feet was corroded by the scarlet wind, leaving a few holes.
Boom!
Watson did not dodge the attack. He allowed the blade to land on his neck. There was a m.u.f.fled sound, but his neck was unharmed. On the contrary, a few holes appeared on the dagger in Amon’s hand, and cracks spread on the surface, causing the blade to shatter, turning into fragments that fell to the ground.
The shattered blade cut his hand, and Amon quickly retreated. His face was filled with disbelief. He had not dared to confirm it when he saw Basher lying on the ground. After that, he was sure that Watson was a platinum-tier elite. The younger man was almost his age, perhaps a few years younger, but he was already a platinum-tier elite. How did he do it?
“Do you still want to continue?”
“No need. I have no chance of beating a platinum-tier elite. I choose to submit.”
Amon replied straightforwardly. He shook his sore arm and looked at Basher lying on the ground with pity. He had not used his full strength in that move earlier. Even so, the rebounding force had shattered his gold-tier dagger. From that, one could see how much strength Basher, who had used his full strength, had received. He was lucky that only his leg was broken.
“That kid is really platinum-tier! Amon is the strongest one among us here, and if Amon said so, then there’s no mistake!”
After confirming Watson’s strength, the Severed Fingers Gang higher-ups felt a little apprehensive. They had not expected the so-called Black Emperor to be a platinum-tier elite. That had greatly exceeded their expectations. It was no wonder Marcus and the others had submitted to the Black Emperor. After all, there were only a few platinum-tier elites in the entire kingdom, and there were none so young. Perhaps Marcus had valued that youth’s talent.
“So he’s a platinum-tier elite. No wonder he has so much confidence in fighting with Basher. However, just his strength is not enough to convince us! If you want to be my boss, not only do you need to have strength, but you also have to be skilled. You have to be able to earn a lot of money. Can you do that?”
Veronica recovered from the shock of Watson defeating Basher. The corners of her mouth curled upward as she asked.
She had a few hundred million gold coins in her hands. Even if she left the Severed Fingers Gang, it would not be a problem for her to work alone. If Watson could not bring her enough benefits, she had no reason to stay.
“Making money is very easy for me. I wonder how much money you want, Madam?”
“I want 100 million gold coins. Can you do it?”
Veronica’s lips curled upward, showing some contempt.
“Of course I can do it.”
To her surprise, Watson did not show any embarra.s.sment. Instead, he took a gold coin from his waist, twisted the ten rings that were s.h.i.+mmering with a faint l.u.s.ter, and snapped his fingers. “I want to make a wish and get 100 million gold coins.”
Whoos.h.!.+
The ten rings lit up, one by one. The gold coins in Watson’s hand turned from one to two, then from two to four…the process was very fast, and soon the gold coins filled the tavern. The gold coins poured like a waterfall in Veronica’s direction.
“What’s going on? Save me, quickly save me!”
Veronica panicked. She wanted to retreat, but before she could do anything, the gold coins had already washed over her body and rushed out of the tavern. Countless gold coins rolled and smashed the door into pieces. Half of the hidden alley outside was submerged in it. Many Severed Fingers Gang members guarding the alley were dumbfounded when they saw the countless gold coins and Veronica, whose head was buried in the gold coins.
“You bunch of idiots, what are you looking at? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and pull me out of here! ”
It was not until they heard Veronica’s curses that the guards snapped back to their senses. They rushed forward with all their might to pull Veronica out of the mountain of gold coins.
After Veronica came out, she shook the long dress on her body, and a large amount of gold coins fell from the folds of her dress. Then she picked up a gold coin, put it in her mouth, and bit it. Her expression became a little dazed. “These are real gold coins. What magic is this? ”
As the manager of banks and the underground casinos, Veronica was very confident in her ability to make money, but what was faster than directly changing the money? She had worked hard for several years to earn tens of millions of gold coins, but Watson only made a move, and 100 million gold coins appeared out of thin air. The two could not be compared at all.
Originally, Veronica had no interest in joining Watson and listening to another’s orders. The request she had made to Watson was just to make things difficult for him, but her resolve was wavering.
When they saw Veronica washed away by the gold coins in the tavern, the rest of the members became more silent.
Watson sat back on the chair casually and smiled at everyone. “Don’t stand on ceremony. Everyone, please tell me what you want. Don’t worry, as long as it’s what you want, I can do it.”
“Honorable Master, I don’t have any other requests. I just want to live a little longer. Do you have any way to extend one’s lifespan?”
After a short period of silence, the elder named Klein stood up. He was the Left Index Finger, and like Veronica, he controlled several banks and underground casinos in the kingdom. He had a large fund, but there was one thing that he differed from Veronica—she was only in her 30s while he was nearing his 80s. He was about to reach the end of a human’s lifespan.
It was undoubtedly an excruciating thing to have countless a.s.sets but no time to spend them. Klein only had one wish, and that was to live a little longer.
“Of course, I can do it. How long do you want to live? An eternal life?”
“Eternal… Eternal Life?”
Klein seemed frightened. It was a difficult request. His life was destined from the moment he was born. If there were no accidents, it could not be changed unless he consumed some heavenly and earthly treasures. As he held a large amount of wealth, Klein had bought quite a few similar herbs, but the effects of those herbs became weaker after he ate too many of them.
As a platinum-tier elite, Watson’s knowledge exceeded that of ordinary people. Perhaps he knew some heavenly and earthly treasures that escaped him. He thought that Watson could give him some herbs to extend his lifespan by a few years. Who would have thought that Watson would immediately offer him eternal life?
Could it be done? It was rumored that the Elven Kingdom in the Forest of Eternity had the Spring of Life. Consuming the Spring of Life would grant one eternal life, but that was only a rumor. Klein did not know if it was true or not.
“I said I could do it. Of course, I would not lie to you. ”
Watson sat in his chair and twirled the ring on his finger. “I want to make a wish, a wish for a Spring of Life.”
With a swish, an emerald-colored liquid appeared in front of Watson. It was the size of a fist, and the color of the stars twinkled in it. The Spring of Life in the Elven Kingdom was guarded by the moon well and could not be obtained by magic or other means. However, Watson had planted the World Tree on Mount Creation. The ball of Spring of Life water came from the World Tree.
After wrapping the Spring of Life water with wind-elemental magic and pus.h.i.+ng it in front of Klein, Watson said, “Drink this; it’s the Spring of Life.”
“That—”
Klein was somewhat hesitant. He was unsure if the ball of liquid in front of him was poisonous or really the Spring of Life water.
As though he had seen through his thoughts, Watson said, “Don’t worry. With my strength, I don’t need to use poison to attack you! Furthermore, the Spring of Life will lose its effect after being exposed to the air for a period. If you don’t use it now, you won’t be able to use it later.”
Watson’s words made sense; Klein’s gaze became firm. He gritted his teeth and opened his mouth, swallowing the fist-sized emerald-colored liquid that was floating in midair.
As the Spring of Life water entered his body, Klein’s body immediately emitted a faint emerald-colored glow. The wrinkles on his aged face had decreased significantly, and even his pale hair had turned into another color. In just a few seconds, Klein looked more than ten years younger.
“That thing is really effective. I can feel an endless stream of life force surging into my body.”
Klein stretched his hands outward as he muttered to himself in surprise.
“It looks like that liquid does indeed have the effect of making one young again. However, making one young and obtaining immortality are two different concepts. How do we verify if one can live forever?”
Seeing Klein’s change in appearance, the remaining Severed Fingers Gang leaders were first surprised. Then, someone raised a question.
Watson had offered them immortality. He would be lying if the water did not give them eternal life. However, how would they verify that? They could not live with Klein to wait for his death, right?
“Since you want to see it, then I’ll help you verify it.”
Watson raised a finger and gently pressed it down on Klein. “Platinum-tier fighting technique, Light and Darkness Samsara.”
Along with the fighting technique, boundless extreme darkness and light appeared on both sides of Klein’s body. With his body as the center, the darkness and light were clearly in conflict with each other, and in an instant, Klein’s head was cut off.
His head rolled to the ground; there was even residual joy on his face. Blood spurted from the broken neck. Following that, the corpse that had lost its head fell limply to the ground. That scene frightened everyone there.
“Honorable Master, what are you doing? I’ve asked you to verify, but I didn’t ask you to kill anyone.”
“Don’t be anxious. You’ll know if you continue watching.” Watson waved his hand, and everyone could continue to watch. They saw Klein’s headless corpse, which had fallen to the ground, suddenly moved. Then, he stood up, the flesh on his head squirmed as it shot up like a sprig of meat. It constantly weaved, and white bones could be vaguely seen inside.
In a short period, Klein’s head reappeared. It was no different from before, and no wounds could be seen. At the same time, his head, which had fallen to the ground, turned into a pool of blood that seeped into the ground.
“I didn’t die despite having my neck cut off? I’ve obtained the power of immortality! This is the eternal life I seek.”
Klein stroked his neck; his expression grew excited. As he spoke, he turned around and walked toward Watson. He knelt on one knee and lowered his head. “Honorable Master Black Emperor, no matter what others think, I will follow you until the end of time.”
As Klein’s voice faded, the remaining Severed Fingers Gang’s leaders looked conflicted.
Watson could bestow eternal life to others, and he was a platinum-tier elite. Perhaps it was not a bad thing to follow him, and with Basher and Veronica as examples, they could obtain their wishes if they followed Watson. They could not see a flaw in that plan.
The atmosphere in the room became silent because everyone was contemplating. Watson watched them as he tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
Marcus, Count Gray, Snick, and Elven had become his loyal subordinates. Of the remaining six leaders, he had defeated Basher. Klein and Amon had taken the initiative to declare their loyalty, and Veronica had not given her answer. However, since he had given her hundreds of millions of gold coins, there was a high chance that she would agree to it.
That was why the remaining members, who were only short of obtaining the t.i.tle of Left Thumb and Right Ring Finger, had yet to join.
As Watson calculated in his heart, he suddenly turned around and looked at a short, fat middle-aged man sitting opposite him. “You should be Left Thumb, right? You’ve been looking at me for a long time now. Do you have any wishes that I can help you fulfill?”
The fat middle-aged man shook his head and said, “There’s no need for that, Honorable Master Black Emperor. I don’t have any wishes for the time being. I’ll tell you when I think of something in the future.”
The fat middle-aged man shuddered when Watson questioned him. It was not bad that Watson could help him fulfill his wishes, but the method of fulfilling his wishes was a little too rough. Veronica wanted wealth, so Watson used gold coins to wash her away. After Klein obtained eternal life, Watson killed him to prove himself. That made the Left Thumb feel fear in his heart.
After a moment of silence, Watson said, “Since Mister Left Thumb doesn’t have any questions, what about you, Right Ring Finger?”
The Right Ring Finger was a woman. She looked to be in her 20s and was very beautiful.
Right Ring Finger hesitated for a moment and lowered her head. “When I came in, I realized that you had replaced the red wine in the Three-legged Cat tavern. We were initially selling fake wine here, so there was not much profit. It looks like we have good wine now; it’s not inferior to wine from the Lafayette Winery. It doesn’t look like fake wine at all. As long as you can give me the recipe for that batch of wine, I’m willing to be your subordinate.”
“The recipe is simple. I’ll let Donder tell you about it later! In fact, the red wine in that tavern isn’t fake but high-quality real wine. That’s why the taste is so good. Not only the wine, but I’ve also replaced the products from other industries. I’ll tell you all in detail later. Since you’ve all chosen to become my subordinates, I’ll explain a few rules to you in advance.”
As Watson spoke, he waved his right hand at Basher, who had been lying on the ground, hugging his legs and wailing. He activated his absolute healing ability, causing Basher’s broken right leg to be as good as new. After getting up from the ground, Basher’s eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Watson. He walked to his seat and sat down. His arrogance had disappeared entirely.
At the same time, Veronica was supported by a few guards as she limped back into the tavern.
When all the leaders had gathered again, Watson raised three fingers at everyone.
“I only have three requirements for you. That is to obey orders, obey orders, and obey orders. Whatever I ask you to do, no matter what, you must do it seriously. If you resist or doubt me, I will immediately revoke your position. Do you understand?”
“Understood, Black Emperor.”
The ten higher-ups responded in unison. Compared to the dissatisfaction and contempt they felt when they first came in, they had more respect for Watson then.
“Next, I will distribute your work! The thumbs will continue to carry out the sale of weapons, and I will send people to provide the weapons for sale. Marcus and Left Thumb, if you two have time, go to the border. As for index fingers, you will still deal with banks and underground casinos. I will make adjustments according to the way you lend. You are not allowed to lend with excessive interest, and you are not allowed to forcibly destroy the borrower’s family just because the other party can’t pay back the money.”
“Yes, Black Emperor. We understand.”
Every time Watson mentioned a person, the corresponding Severed Fingers higher-up would nod in agreement. On the surface, they were very respectful, but no one knew how they felt about Watson’s orders.
“As for the middle fingers, it’s fine to maintain the business of killing people, but we only accept orders for the pursuit of the most vicious criminals and fugitives. All the other orders will be canceled! The ring fingers will mainly sell alcohol. Just keep it as it is, and pinkies will do intelligence work as I’ve said before. I won’t say much more.”
Watson looked at each of them seriously. “Last but not least, I hope that all of you will gather all our members in Count Gray’s manor in half an hour! I know that you will not understand some of the orders I am issuing right now, and you do not need to understand them. You just need to do as I say because you will immediately know how much benefit my decisions will bring you.”